Erick Morillo - Strictly

Erick Morillo - Strictly
Erick Morillo's never been one to pay much heed to subtlety. His earliest productions, such as '93's "I Like to Move It" (produced with Ralphie Munez under the Reel II Reel moniker) and '94's "Dancing," established him as a party-time hustler, more interested in getting girls on the dance floor than in pleasing the chin strokers. His longtime label, Subliminal, pioneered the whole buzzy-bassline-with-tribal-beats sound that still packs 'em in at the superclubs. And his DJ sets, whether they're at his home base of Pacha NYC or on the Mediterranean's White Island—where he's been dubbed "The King of Ibiza"—are full-throttle, 130 BPM house-music muggings. And then there are those flirtations with the likes of P. Diddy and Tommy Lee...

And yet, there's something about Morillo that makes him hard to hate on, even for those people for whom the words "big commercial club" are pretty much the same as "the last place you'll ever find me." You never get the feeling that he's a calculating clubland impresario aiming to rake in the bucks (though we assume those bucks are being indeed being raked); instead, he's like a kid who's been given a toy drum set, banging away on it for all it's worth. At least, that's the impression one gets from listening to Strictly Erick Morillo, a new triple-CD comp (two mixed, one not) which showcases the Colombia-born spinner in rude 'n' crude peak-time form.

As the name implies, it's being released on the recently rejuvenated Strictly Rhythm, the label which gave Morillo his start—and as one would expect, the mix is jammed with early Strictly cuts like Underground Solution's "Luv Dancin'," "Deep Inside" by Hardrive, and "Reach" by Lil Mo' Ying Yang, AKA Morillo and Louie Vega. Of course, these clubbing touchstones have been radically remixed, juiced up almost beyond recognition into big-club bruisers, but at least there are hints of past grandeurs to be had. (Thankfully, CD 3 contains a healthy dose of the original versions.)

At times, particularly on CD 2, the mix flirts with mainstream trance and big-time techno; Mark Knight and Funkagenda's version of "The Man with the Red Face" makes an appearance, for instance. But this really is all about full-throttle house—take it or leave it. And Morillo, permanent grin glued to his face, is unashamedly taking it.

More on Erick Morillo

Born in New York and raised in Colombia and Union City, New Jersey. Morillo has been a DJ since the age of twelve, entranced by the turntable trickery of the masters. Disc jockey, producer, all-round social gadfly and party animal. Are you ready for so..
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